News archive

A helpful change to the insurance disputes process coming up?

Yesterday Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, announced  the opening of consultations on changes to the maximum amount that could be taken to the insurance industry’s disputes resolution services (the full media release is below). The change proposed is an  “… increase to the cap on the compensation that dispute resolution schemes can award in relation to disputes about

Reflecting on Allyn & Josie's story

Their family has been through a lot since the earthquakes, and after a bit of a rocky start to their claim process, things quickly got back on track once everyone started working together. Allyn & Josie are overjoyed to be back in their newly rebuilt home now, and would like to share their experiences with others who are still going through the process.

CTV News - 5th March 2015

CTV News Story - Caxton

CTV News Story - Te Matatini 2

CTV News Story - Te Matatini

Canterbury Live - 5th March 2015

ROADWORKS: Dyers Pass Road – Daytime closures 9 Mar – 13 Mar

Dyers Pass Road between Summit Road and Governors Bay Road will be CLOSED from 9 March to 13 March between 9am-3.30pm for resealing work. The road will be opened at the following times to allow road users through: 11am 1.15pm …

Baden Ewart to head Christchurch central city rebuild

An interim director for the Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) has been announced ahead of the departure of current leader Warwick Isaacs.

Restoring the Townsend Telescope and Observatory

A restoration project is underway to rebuild the Townsend Telescope and restore it to the Arts Centre.

Appointment made in key rebuild role

An interim appointment has today been made to replace outgoing Christchurch Central Development Unit director Warwick Isaacs.

ROADWORKS: Brougham St between Colombo St and Ensors Rd

Road users are advised that from Sunday March 8 overnight resurfacing work will begin on Brougham St between Colombo St and Ensors Rd. These staged works are expected to last 6 weeks with completion due on Saturday April 25. Two …

Red-zone house shoved beyond property boundary

Tony Bennett is among the majority of Port Hills red zoners to accept compensation for his earthquake-damaged home.

Kaiapoi Red Zone photographic exhibition

The Kaiapoi Public Library is currently hosting an exhibition of Red Zone photographs by Cosmo Kentish-Barnes. Cosmo  spent a few months around Kaiapoi photographing earthquake damage. F

$17m pool in plan for the east

A third new pool complex is being proposed for Christchurch's eastern suburbs.

Canterbury building reached a record in 2014

Construction in Canterbury is at record levels with the peak yet to come.

CTV News Story - Te Matatini 1

CTV News Story - Interview With Deon Swiggs

CTV News Story - RSA Backdown

CTV News Story - PM on EQC

CTV News - 4th March 2015

When will Christchurch police station implode?

A date for the implosion of Christchurch's former police station has not been confirmed, despite social media reports suggesting otherwise.

Christchurch's rebuild begins with massive $4 billion construction spend

Construction in Canterbury is at record levels, with almost $4 billion worth of construction work done last year.

ROADWORKS: Waltham Road Overbridge one lane in both directions from Monday

Road users are advised that from Monday March 9th the Waltham Street Overbridge will be reduced to one lane on each side for approximately ten days while repair work is carried out on the bridge. For those travelling southbound, Barbadoes …

RecoveryWorks – April programme places available!

RecoveryWorks is a change programme for people living in Canterbury, aged 18 or over and who experience moderate levels of anxiety. The programme includes 10 x four-hour workshops plus 4 individual coaching sessions and is highly effective in helping people towards recovery and a renewed sense of wellbeing. RecoveryWorks is free; however there are eligibility...

Final total for Port Hills Crown offer acceptances

The final total for the acceptance of the Port Hills red zone Crown offer is now available.

Rebuild tools stolen, repainted, resold

Thieves are stealing thousands of dollars worth of tools from building sites, disguising them with a fresh coat of paint and then selling them back into the rebuild.

CPIT opens $15.9m sports and wellbeing centre

Prime Minister John Key has officially opened the first new building in CPIT's ambitious plan to invest in the future of vocational training with modern facilities and contemporary learning delivery.

Fair Insurance Code FAQ – Part 1

The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is not part of the Revised Code, just an explanation of the Review process and some of the positions taken by ICNZ on particular issues.

Earthquake responses in new book

Nathan Durkin looked up from unsuccessfully trying to resuscitate a badly injured person during the Christchurch earthquake and saw a group of school pupils looking on.

House of the week: Cashmere

An old white weatherboard home on a sheltered eastern slope in Cashmere, Christchurch, had already been extensively renovated when Liam and Judith Walshe bought it 15 years ago.

CTV News Story - Two Weeks out Charity

Cash Settling – the pitfalls

More and more Cantabrians are cash settling their earthquake claims. I personally find this a very concerning development and believe that any homeowner wanting to cash settle should think seriously before entering into any such agreement. One should at least …

International FRENCH Cricket World Cup Grande Finale

Sunday 8th March, 2015 11am-1pm It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for!  

EVENT: Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival – North Hagley Park

Road users are advised that from Wednesday 4th March till Sunday 8th March Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival takes place in North Hagley Park. 

John Key says shoddy quake repairs should be fixed

Prime Minister John Key says shoddy repair work on quake-damaged Canterbury homes is "worrying" and any repairs not up to par should be fixed.

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Deadline for April/May St Albans News

Reminder: The next issue of St Albans News, April/May is being prepared at the moment for delivery in a few weeks’ time. If you have any articles, photographs (full colour or monochrome), news stories, feature articles to be considered for …

High paid EQC staff 'fail' their customers

One in five Earthquake Commission (EQC) staff are paid more than $100,000 a year.

Sheds rescued for art project

It is a race against time as Billy Wilson tries to save tool and garden sheds in the residential red zone from demolition.

Future of quake-hit camp in doubt

The Christchurch City Council is considering closing the popular South Brighton Holiday Park because of the high cost of fixing the quake-damaged land and buildings.

Lynched - Monday 2nd March

What happens with damaged retaining walls?

If you have a damaged retaining wall on your property, then you may find the following episode of  useful, providing a clearer idea of what the steps to resolution might be.

Getting to grips with the Canterbury Guidance

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has released an online tool to support its Guidance for repairing and rebuilding homes in Canterbury.

Canterbury Live - 2nd March 2015

CTV News - 2nd March 2015

Let's Go Shopping - 2nd March 2015

It’s not too late for lawn bowls…

There are still a few places left for teams or individuals to join our lawn bowls tournament on 13th March at the Burnside Lawn Bowls Club. Don’t miss out on the chance to join the coveted ranks of Coffey lawn bowls champions. Please RSVP to Tess Martin as soon as possible if you are interested in taking […]

EQC stands behind repair quality

'Gutsy' report tells EQC to treat customers as people

MBIE Guidelines- Sarah’s view on the matter

An insurance policy constitutes the rights and entitlements for the policyholder under the insurance contract. The courts have long insisted that the parties are to be confined within the four corners of the contract in which they have chosen to enshrine their agreement. Nowhere in my contract with State Insurance or in your contract will you find reference to the MBIE Guidelines – they are neither provided for or even anticipated. The Guidelines were

Assessing the ICNZ Revised Fair Insurance Code - Part 3

This post considers the final part of the Revised Code. 

ICNZ make a more detailed response.

Thursday’s blog covered the Insurance Council of New Zealand’s (ICNZ) response to an article on an insurance business website. The article featured the Avonside Blog’s commentary on the revised Fair Insurance Code. 

Sir John Hansen is a man with a plan

How not to begin an interview. Suggest to a distinguished ex-High Court judge - and current chair of the Press Council - that he might be Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee's political puppet.

New Canterbury homes failing building surveys

Prominent Canterbury home builders failed more than a third of their final building code inspections in the last six months of 2014.

$1.72m for as-is-where-is house

A Christchurch home in as-is-where-is condition has sold for $1.72 million.

Assessing the ICNZ Revised Fair Insurance Code - Part 2

As we get further into the Revised Code the number of new issues raised slows down. 

CTV News - 27th February 2015

CTV News Story - Age Concern

Post-earthquake Christchurch 'occupied territory'

Four years goes very quickly. At first, for many a Cantabrian, we thought it would never end. With multiple quakes each day, news reports and inquiries, salutes to the deserving heroes, and of course the demolition and rehabilitation works, every day was a trial for those who were attempting to move on. The dissipation of the earthquakes was a relief, and still is. The people, however, are left with an aftermath of disenfranchisement.